Appabatus fob distillation



April 16, 1929. E. PlRoN ET AL 1,709,370

APPARATUS FOR DISTILLATION Filed April 4. 419212 2 Sheets-Sheet l` www 2@j 4 Attorneys 2 sheets-shea mus-2:.

April 16, 1929.

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` UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMIL PIRON, OF NEW YORK, AND VlRGINIUS CARACRIST, OF BROXVILLE, NEWYORK, ASSIGNORS TO PIRON COAL DISTILLATKION SYSTEMS, IN C., OFNEW YORK,

N. Y., A conroRATIoN or DELAWARE.

APPARATUS FOR IDIS'JIILIT'JI0N.`

Application filed April 4l,

Our present invention relates to apparatus for distillation in which thematerial to be distilled is subjected to heat in a distillation chamber`to drive off the gases therefrom, and will be bestunderstood' from thefollowing description'and the appended drawings, in Which Figure l is avertical section of one form of our invention; Fig. 2 is a section ofFig. 1 on the line 2 2, looking in thedirec- `tion of the arrows, andFig. 3 is a vertical section of a modification.

Like reference characters indicate in the several views.` p

In the illustrative arrangement shown `in Figs. 1 and 2, thedistillation chamber 1()y is provided with a receptacle containing abath 11 of any suitable molten material. We have found` the metal leadsuitable forour purpose, but it will be understood that any other easilyfusible material may be used, if it does not volatilize at? thedistillation temperature and conducts heat readily. At one end of thechamber is provided a hopper 12 by which the material vto be distilled,such as coal -or the like,may be fed, preferably in a relatively thinlayer, to the surfaceof the bath 11. At the opposite end of the chamber10 is a dislike parts i charge chute 13 and in the roof of the chamberis a gas outlet 14. The side walls 15, 1G of the chamber 10 arecarrieddown below the surface of the bath 11, the bath.receptacleextending outside o-f these side walls. as shown best'inFig. 2. Adjacentthese side walls is a plurality of chambers, the chambers 17 beingcombustion chambers and the chambers exhaust chambers.

Extending `through thel bath is a plurality of tubes 19 which haveupturned ends entering` respectively the chambers 1'? and 1S` The sidewalls 1.5, 16 are provided twith openings through which the tubes 19pass, these side walls.being-continued down between the tubes i to holdthem imposition. `The upturued ends project above the surface4 of thebath 11. The inlets 2O connected to burners supplying a. combustiblemixture of air and gas (not shown) lead into the combustion chambers 17Aand the chambers 18 Vare connected through 1922. serial No. 549,394.

the ugas exits 21 with a stack or other suitable means to dispose ofburnt gases. l

ln the form illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, a means to forward thematerial received from the` chute 12 is provided in the form of a numberof chains 22 which passfover suitable pulleys on the shafts 23 and 24-at opposite ends ofthe distillation chamber. Idlers 25 may beconveniently provided to support-the chain at the right-hand end ofFig. 1. The shaft 23, and therefore the chains L22,1is givenastep-by-step motion through an eccentric 26` on a shaft 27 and aconnecting` rod 28 actuati ing a ratchet- 29, the shaft 27 `being turnedfrom any suitable source of power. `The ro-` tation of the shaft 23 willmove the chains 22 so aste carrythe lower run thereof to the right ofFig. 1. provided.` with toothed portionsto feed the material from thehopper 12to the surface of the bath. i

ljvlhen the apparatus just described is used for the distillationofcoal, combustible gases are passed from the inlets 20 into thecombustion chambers 17 where they are ignited` and from whence they`pass through the heating tubes 1), the burnt gases therefrom passingout through the gas outlets 21.A The heat from these burnt ga is`transmitted through the walls of the tubes 19 directly to the Vma-`ferial of the bath 11 to n'lainlain it in a molten comlitiou, andtesupply heatto the material 'to be distilled. The coal passes from theTheshaft ,23 may7 also be.

hop'ier l2-by the rotation of the shaft 23 and is spread over thesurfaceof the bath in a relatively thinylayer, and, by` engagement withthe links of the chains 22, the coalis carried along the surface ofthebath on which the coal will float, receiving heat directly from thematerial of thebath. The gases driven oil from the coal pass out of thegas outlet 14 and by the time thecoal reaches the`right-hand end of thechamber 10, Ait is reduced to coke which passes up over `the plates 10land into the chute 13.' If` desired, devicesmay be "supplied at therighthand end of thc chains 22 which will remove the coke which mayadhere to the chains.

lf lead be usedfor the bath and the chains are made of iron or steel,the run of the chain Y adjacentthe bath will float on the surfacethereof so'as to extend up into the mass of coal, and, by reason of theplasticity of the coal as it is being 4coked, the coal will'be engagedby the chains and moved therewith. Instead of moving the shaft 23intermittently, it may be turned continuously and obviously `manyotherforms of feeding devices may be used.. instead ofthat illustrated.I

' By heating the bath internally, as by the tubes 19, the heat forthe'distillation will not be obliged to pass throughthe refractorymaterial forming the receptacle `for the bath, so that the life of therefractoryr material will be prolonged. Moreover, the heat will besupplied very close to the point at which it `is used inthedistillation, so that losses will be decreased. Because the receptaclefor the bath is comparatively (cool, any cracks which may be formedtherein will be sealed by the molten material whichwill enter thesecracks and be cooled as it passes away from. the bath. By arranging thetubes in the manner described,`it will be obvious that no means forattaching them ,in position is required, and

j that there is no possibility of leaks of the gas plates `of the chainwill float thereon, so that used. in the heating, the liquid of the bathforming a seal around the tubes.

In.l Fig. 3, we have showna modification in which the material to bedistilled is forwarded along the surface of the bath by a chain made upof plates 30 which form a continuous support or platform for thematerial, thematerial'being .fed from theyhopper l2 to this continuousplatform. If the material of the bath be lead, for instance, the

the coal doesnot contact directly withl the lead. The chainpasses aroundsprockets on the shafts'll, 32, the sprocket 3l being actuated by anysuitable mechanism either continuously or intermittently, as, forexample, by mechanism indicated in Fig. 1 for driving rshaft.. :[nthelform illustrated, the chain,

the receptacle for the bath on the return run.

In the distillation of certain materials, such as some grades ofcoal,the coal becomes sulhciently plastic to adhere Yto `the walls of thedistillation chamber'if the coal contacts therewith. Such contactwouldbe prevented by distributing the coal on the center of the bath only,but to insure that it will not spread Y out and be brought into contactwith the side walls 15, 16, we may provide at the sides of the hopperl2' in `either one of the illustrated embodiments of the invention,supplemental hoppers 33, 34, through which will be fed a material whichwill not be sticky at the temperature of the bath, such, for instance,as coke. When these supplemental hoppers are used, a layer of suchmaterial will be supplied to either side of the bath between the sidewalls l5, 16 and the `layer of material being distilled, and thisadditional material will be carried through the bath in the same manneras the material being distilled to form a protective zone, as it were,to prevent the material being distilled from coming into contact withthe side walls. j i being distilled is 'coal and the additionalInaterial is coke, then the entire mass may be delivered into thecommonV chute .If a material is used which is to kept separate from theproducts produced by the ldistillation, then the chute 1.3 would bedivided so as to provide separate parts, each to receive one kind ofmaterial. j

lWhile we have shown illustrative forms of our invention, it will' beunderstood thatithe embodiment of the same may be widely varied.

l. A distillation'apparatus for solid materials comprising adistillation chamber, a bath of molten material in said chamber, meansto feed thematerial to be distilled to a point adjacent the'surface ofthe bath at one end thereof, means to forward the material above andadjacent the surface of the bath, and heating means for the bath locatedin the molten material,said heating' means comprising a tube withupturned ends, the main body of the tube extending through the bath andcrosswise of the direction of travel of said forwarding means andbeneath the surface thereof and the upturned ends projecting above thesurfaceof the bath.

2. A' distillationapparatus for solid materials comprising adistillation chamber, a

bath of molten material in said chamber, means to feed the material tobe distilled to apoint adjacent the surface of the bath at one endthereof, means to forward the material above and adjacent the surface ofthe bath, heating means for Vthe bath located in the molten` material,said distillation chamber having 'side walls extending below the If thematerial surface ofthe bath and said heating means comprising a tubewith npturned ends, with the main body of the'tube extending through 1the bath and beneath the said side walls and the upturned endsprojecting above the surface of the bath outside the distillationchamber, kand means for supplying combustible `gases to one'` ofsaid'upturned ends. j

3. A. distillation apparatus for solid ma` terials comprising adistillation chamber, a

"bath-ofmolten material in said chamber,

CII

means to feed the material to be distilled to a point adjacentthesurface of the bath at one `end thereof, and an endless flexibleforwarding device 4having a specific 4gravity less than that ofthematerial of the bath and having a portion of its run arranged tofloat on the bath, to forward the material to be distilled parallel tothe surface of the bath.

4. A distillation apparatus `for solid materials ,comprising adistillation chamber, a bath of molten material in said chamber, meansto feed the material to be distilled to a point adjacent the surface ofthe bath at one end thereof, and an endless, flexible, mov ing platformof ointed plates having a specitic gravity less than that of thematerial of the bath and adapted to transmit the heat of the bath to thematerial to be distilled, said platform having a portion of its runarranged to float on the bath and to forward the material to bedistilled parallel to the surface of the bath.

5. A distillation apparatus for solid materials comprising adistillation chamber, a bath of molten material insaid chamber, anendless, flexible, moving platform of jointed heat-transmitting plateshaving a specific gravity less than that of the material of the bath andhaving a portion of its run floating on the surface of the bath with thetops of the plates above and adjacent to the surface of the bath, andmeans to feed the material to be distilled to the top of the plates atone end of t-he bath, whereby such materials are supported out ofcontact with the material of the bath and carried parallel to thesurface thereof while being distilled.

G. A distillation apparatus having'a bath of molten material, andheating means for the bath located within the bath, said heating meanscomprising a combustion chamber, au

exhaust chamber and a tube with upturned ends extending beneath thesurface of the bath` and having its ends `extending loosely into saidcombustion and exhaust chambers.

7. A distillation apparatus having a bath of molten material, heatingmeans for the bath located within the bath, said heating meanscomprising a combustion chamber and a tube with upturned ends, the mainportion of the tube being located beneath the surface of the bath andsubstantially parallel `with the same and the ends extending above saidsurface, and means for supplying con'ibnstible gases through thecombustion chamber to one of the upturned ends, said end of the tubeextending loosely into said combustion chamber. i

A distillation apparatus comprising a bath of molten material, adistillation chamber having walls extending below the surface of thebath and removed from the edges thereof, heating means for the bath,comprising a. tubehaving upturned ends,with'the main portion ofthe tubeextending through the bath and beneath said walls and with the upturnedAends outside the` distillation chamberand vabove `the surface of thebath, and means for supplying combustible gases to one of the upturnedends.` g

9. A distillation apparatuscomprisingla bath of molten material, adistillation chamber having walls extending below the surface of thebath and removed from the edges thereof, a combustion chamber and anexhaust chamber at opposite sides of the distillation chamber andoutside the walls thereof, a tube having upturned ends, with the mainportion of the tube extending through the bath and beneath said wallsand with the upturned ends extending above the surface of the bath, oneof said ends communicating with the combustion chamber and the otherwith the exhaust chamber, and means for supplying combustible gases tothe heating chamber;

l0. A distillation apparatus for solid ma-` terials, comprising adistillation chamber, a

`bath of molten material in said chamber,

means to feed the material to bedistilled to a point adjacent thesurface of the bath at one end thereof, means to forward the' ma-kvterial above and adjacent the surface of the bath, and means to maintainbetween the side walls of the chamber and the material to be distilled,a quantity of other material which is non-adherent to the side walls atthe temperature of the bath.

11. A distillation apparatus for solid materials comprising adistillation chamber, a bath of molten material in said chamber, meansto feed a layer of the material to be distilled to a point adjacent thesurface of the bath at one end thereof and out of Contact with the sidewalls of the chamber, means to feed a layer of other material toa pointadjacent the surface of thebath and between the side walls and the layerof material to be distilled, and means toforward both materials aboveand adjacent the surface of the bath, said other material being`non-adhering to the side walls at the temperature of the bath. A

` l2. A distillation apparatus for solid materials comprising adistillation chamber, a bath of molten material in said chamber, meansto feed the material to be distilled to a point adjacent the surface ofthe bath at one end thereof, an endless flexible forwarding devicehaving one portion of its run located above and adjacentthe surface ofthe bath and adapted to forward the materials to bedistilled parallel tothe `surface of the bath and having its return run beneath the bat-h,and means to heat the bath, comprising tubes extending beneath thesurface thereof at rightangles to the lineof travel of the conveyor.

13j A distillation `apparat-us for solid ma-V terials comprising adistillation chamber, a

`bath of molten material in said chamber,

means to feedthe material to be distilled to a vpontadjacent the surfaceofthe bath at the bath and adapted to forward the materials to bedistilled `parallel to the surface of the bath, rotary supports'for saidconveyor at eitliel` end of the bath, and means pulling onthenon-1naterial-forwarding run of the conveyor to'move said conveyor.

EMIL PIRON.`

VIRGINIUS ZV. CARACRISTI.

